Spring 2023 Abstract The halo is a familiar symbol across Buddhist, Christian, and Mughal art, but its role in Sikhvisual media has yet to be acknowledged and examined. This article studies the Sikh halo inrelation to key philosophical concepts of dasam dwar (the tenth door/opening, located at thecrown of the head) and anahad naad (an … Read more
Spring 2023 Abstract It is rightly said that “All art is in part about the world in which it emerged.” As part of aNorth Indian hagiographic manuscript written in the 19th century, the miniature paintinganalyzed in this essay depicts a miracle of the founder of Sikhism-Guru Nanak. This essaywill deconstruct the visual elements in the … Read more
Spring 2023 First paragraph On January the 9th, 1907 CE, a Lahori bookseller named H. Abdur Rahman arrivedat the India Office Library in London and offered a small but beautifully illustrated,handwritten book for sale. It was written in a Gurmukhi script and titled, ‘A Life ofNanak (Janamsakhi)’ and was dated 1733. According to the entry … Read more
Fall 2020 Abstract This paper aims to understand the political philosophy of Guru Nanak and its contemporaryrelevance. It traces that philosophy by readings of the Guru’s bani in Guru Granth Sahib that havea political focus. Having identified five salient political dimensions, these are theorized andpresented in the contemporary language of politics. The paper then contextualizes … Read more
Sept 2019 Abstract This paper considers a trio of moral precepts for Sikhs that have come to be known as the “threepillars of Sikhism,” (Naam japna, kirat karni, vand chhakna) and traces their origins to a specificwork of Bhai Vir Singh, originally published in 1907. The paper also discusses some subsequentliterary use of the triple, … Read more